Federalist No. 30

Federalist No. 30, authored by Alexander Hamilton under the pen name Publius, is the thirtieth of 85 essays. Titled "Concerning the General Power of Taxation", Hamilton writes about the powers of taxation, which were a controversial topic at the time.

A major deficiency of the Articles of Confederation was considered to be their inadequate powers in collecting taxes to maintain basic solvency.

It was published on December 28, 1787.

Taxation

A major theme of Federalist 30 was internal and external taxation. Leading up to the Constitutional Convention, several of the states were engaging in tariff wars with each other,[1][2] preventing the colonies from fully integrating more as one solvent union. This was viewed as a major defect and important point leading into the call for organizing the Annapolis Convention.

The tariffs levied against one state by another had a very distressing effect upon the commerce of the states, and is one of the primary concerns the Founders had when they talk about "promoting commerce".